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Staying in Shape While Staying in the House

The Pebble staff offers tips on how to stay busy during social distancing. Today’s tip – exercise!

Freshman Jay Hoke plays soccer daily to keep himself busy.

By Simon Hoke

With the Coronavirus sweeping the world, more and more Americans, Syracusans, and MPH students are confined to their houses. In a time like this, it’s imperative that we follow the guidelines that the US government and the World Health Organization have set in our response to this pandemic. While we continue to stay at home, wash our hands for at least twenty seconds, refrain from touching our faces, and practice social distancing, it’s also increasingly important that we don’t lose touch with our pre-virus selves: our lives and routines before we couldn’t leave the house. Maintaining some semblance of routines before the Coronavirus can be difficult and has been difficult for many people, especially when it’s out of our control. Thousands of Americans have lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn currently in progress, and others with medical problems have been hard pressed to get immediate treatment due to the lack of medical resources.

One element of daily life for many people that has become altered by the social distancing era is exercise. It’s no longer an option to pop over to the gym for an hour to workout in close proximity with other people. While NBA players stranded at home may have home gym sets which make staying in shape easy and accessible, many of us who are not professional athletes have had a tougher time. Personally, I’ve gone on a couple of runs, making sure to stay at least six feet apart from anyone else on the roads, and I have played soccer in my backyard and in my basement. If you’re set on staying in shape during these times, it shouldn’t be too much different from before. You have to adapt your workouts to fit your quarantine.

Freshman and varsity soccer player Abigail Hinshaw’s workout schedule has certainly not been shut down by the Coronavirus. When asked what she was doing to exercise, she said, “I’ve been playing baseball, football, and soccer and I’ve been biking, running and doing workouts.” Instead of letting the pandemic discourage her from putting in the work to stay in shape, Abigail has used it as motivation, and she now has more free time in which to fit all these activities.

Senior Daniel Braverman is the captain of the cross country team. “I’ve been running 20-30 miles per week,” he says. Daniel has been diligent about his workout schedule and he feels healthy even in quarantine.

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the world’s events, and while we should change our behavior to adapt to the outbreak, there are some parts of our lives that we can’t afford to change. These students and many others at MPH who have kept up with their exercise, despite the need to socially distance, have been a great example of a positive response to a gloomy time.